iOS and Android divide the tablet world between them. There is no third.

Or at least that is currently the case. Leaks (which may or may not be true) reveal that Microsoft may be throwing its hat back into the ring of the tablet market once again with a device presently being called the “Andromeda” by various tech blogs.

If the leaks are true, then the most interesting thing about this new device is that Microsoft itself seems to be developing it. This is a pretty big step up for Microsoft’s involvement in the tablet industry, as Microsoft’s original tablet strategy was pretty much just to throw the operating system onto whatever device tablet manufacturing companies would allow to run it.

The Andromeda is rumored to be a foldable tablet device, similar to the Microsoft Courier. If you do not know what the Microsoft Courier is, that is probably because the Microsoft Courier never came out. The Courier was first reported all the way back in 2008 but was canned before it ever hit any shelves to be sold. Hopefully that does not happen to the Andromeda, but I could see Microsoft choosing to go that route. Anyway, here’s a concept rendering of the Andromeda from the leak:

Since Microsoft did not officially announce the Andromeda, very little is known about the hardware the device will come equipped with, the price of the device, or even what size the device will be. However, leak information does point to the Andromeda having cellular capabilities, which means that it can send texts and calls out in place of your smartphone.

Whether Microsoft will be choosing to market this as more of a smartphone or a tablet remains to be seen, but I could personally see the device being paired off with a stylus and being marketed as an artsy tablet. That’s a far safer bet than expecting Microsoft to try the notebook-style Andromeda in the smartphone market, where Microsoft currently has virtually no presence. Not like Microsoft currently has much of a presence in the tablet market either if our tablet rental records are any indication of anything, but maybe that will change if the Andromeda comes to fruition.

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